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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

New York Times Obtains 20-Plus Years of President Trump's Tax Returns; Former Trump Campaign Manager Hospitalized After Suicide Threat; Santa Rosa Police Order Residents to Evacuate Immediately. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired September 28, 2020 - 05:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[05:00:00]

LAURA JARRETT, CO-ANCHOR, EARLY START: Breaking news, tax bombshell. "The New York Times" gets its hands on President Trump's taxes, showing staggering business losses, crushing personal debt and a tax bill that's just a fraction of what most hard working Americans have to pay. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is EARLY START, I'm Laura Jarrett.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CO-ANCHOR, EARLY START: Good Monday morning everyone, I'm Christine Romans. It is September 28th, 5:00 a.m. in New York, 36 days to the election, just one day until the first presidential debate. But breaking overnight, the man who portrays himself as one of the wealthiest presidents in the nation's history has avoided paying federal income taxes for decades. "The New York Times" publishing a devastating expose, Sunday, after obtaining two decades worth of tax returns. President Trump has fought relentlessly to keep those returns secret from journalists, prosecutors and the American public. The story pulls back the curtain to tell a story completely at odds with the public persona Trump worked so hard to create.

Instead, the reality is a serial tax avoider who has presided over hundreds of millions of dollars of losses and is crushed by a mountain of debt. Just a sample from this lengthy "Times" report. "The picture that perhaps emerges most starkly from the mountain of figures and tax schedules prepared by Mr. Trump's accountants is of a businessman president in a tightening financial vise. Most of Mr. Trump's core enterprises, from his constellation of golf courses to his conservative magnet hotel in Washington report losing millions if not tens of millions of dollars year after year." That hotel and the tax records revealing even more details on the potential conflicts of interest Trump has created by taking money from foreign officials and lobbyists. White House correspondent John Harwood has more in last night's revelations.

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: On the eve of the first 2020 presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, a bombshell report from "The New York Times" showing that the president, after an extensive review of his tax records, paid only $750 in 2017, his first year as president in federal income taxes, the same in 2016, the year he was running for president and more broadly paints a picture of a president in financial distress, increasingly squeezed by the losses at his businesses that are part of the Trump organization and reliant on his status as president to make money, both from taxpayers through visits to his properties, from having lobbyists and foreign officials come to his hotels to seek access, come to Mar-a- Lago to seek access.

This is a president who has portrayed himself as a tremendous business success to the American people and used that argument to say he can turn the country around. This "New York Times" report which relies on tax records that it says it got from people with the legal right to possess them shows a much different picture of this president.

Now, this issue has come up before, the president faced Hillary Clinton in debate in 2016 and she pointed out another "New York Times" report, showing he hadn't paid taxes in particular years, he said that makes him smart. The question is, are all of those American voters and taxpayers who have paid a lot more than $750 over the last four years going to think that, that is -- they paid more because he's smarter than them or for some other reason.

And you can bet that Joe Biden is going to bring this up on the debate stage on Tuesday night, just as Hillary Clinton did four years ago. Lauren, Christine?

JARRETT: John, thank you so much for that. The full extent of the president's financial stress has been something of a mystery. But the signs of tax avoidance have been there. Let's play that moment during the 2016 debate that John was just talking about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: The only years that anybody's ever seen were a couple of years when he had to turn them over to state authorities when he was trying to get a casino license and they showed he didn't pay any federal income tax. So --

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That makes me smart --

CLINTON: If he's paid --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: So the president then bragging about not paying his taxes, but he also bragged about how successful his businesses are.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I built a great company. One of the best companies, I have some of the greatest assets in the world. Finances are very clean.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Very clean. While in reality, "The Times" reports President Trump's core businesses from his golf courses to his Washington D.C hotel have been losing millions of dollars year after year. Also dangling over the president's head a decade-long audit by the IRS over the legitimacy of nearly $73 million tax refund that Trump received. An adverse ruling in that case could cost Mr. Trump more than a $100 million.

[05:05:00]

And he's personally responsible for loans and other debts totaling $421 million, most of it coming due within four years. Christine, that means if he's re-elected, his lenders might have to decide whether to foreclose on a sitting president. And one of the things I thought about reading this, Christine, is, did the lenders have a full picture of all of this or were they surprised when they were reading this report just as we all were, how much of this has he revealed to those lenders?

ROMANS: You know, this is somebody who has crafted himself as smarter than everybody else, a businessman, you know, you keep score by the money. He has lost money consistently on just about everything with the Trump name on it for years according to these tax returns in "The New York Times". It's just a remarkable picture at odds with the public image he has tried to craft.

JARRETT: Yes.

ROMANS: Let's take a look at another -- a couple of side-by-side comparisons here. In 2017, Joe Biden filed jointly with his wife, Jill, he paid more than $3.7 million in taxes, the couple did. Kamala Harris paid more than half a million, Bernie Sanders nearly 344,000, Elizabeth Warren, more than 268,000. And take a look at what past presidents paid in their first year in office from Bill Clinton's $63,000 up to Barack Obama who paid $1.8 million in taxes, most of that on royalties from his books.

JARRETT: The contrast there is stark, but in response to these new revelations, President Trump is trotting out the same familiar tactics, insisting there's nothing for voters to be concerned about, while falsely claiming that he could not release the taxes because of the ongoing audit, an argument refuted by his own IRS commissioner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Yes, basically -- well, first of all, I paid a lot, and I paid a lot of state income taxes, too. The New York state charges a lot and I paid a lot of money at state. It will all be revealed. It's going to come out, but after the audit is -- I'm being --they're doing their assessment. We've been negotiating for a long time. Things get settled like in the IRS, but right now when you're under audit, you don't do it. You don't do that. So we're under audit by the story is a total fake. And all of this as this one -- you know, we had the same exact questions usually asked by the same people and that took place four years ago, you remember that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Nothing is preventing him from releasing those taxes today, but Trump Organization lawyer Alan Garden tells "The New York Times" that most, if not all of the facts appear to be inaccurate without specifying which facts, and he's requested the documents obtained by "The Times".

ROMANS: All right, a scathing line from "The New York Times" report, "Mr. Trump has been more successful playing a business mogul than being one in real one." The tax bombshell reveals three things here, the president is adept at losing money, lots of money. The tax system rewards rich people who lose a lot of money. You can write off those loses. The average citizen has paid more to support America's military road schools and democracy, that's where your federal income tax is due. The American citizen has paid more than he has. Data from Tax Policy Center shows roughly half of Americans pay no income taxes largely because of how low their income is.

But IRS data shows the average filer paid roughly $12,200 in 2017. That's about 16 times more than what President Trump paid the same year. As a candidate, Trump sold Americans on being a successful businessman, but he found multiple ways to write off the cost of creating that image. Trump took huge deductions, including $70,000 to take care of his hair during "The Apprentice", and appear to write off hundreds of thousands of dollars, paying his daughter Ivanka as a consultant to the Trump Organization.

JARRETT: Also breaking overnight, a former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale hospitalized following reports of a suicide attempt at his home in Florida. Fort Lauderdale police responded to Parscale's residence Sunday after his wife called and reported he was trying to take his own life and had access to multiple firearms inside the home. After a brief negotiation with officers, Parscale surrendered peacefully to police and was taken to the hospital for a mental health evaluation and hold.

ROMANS: Also breaking overnight, police in Santa Rosa, California, ordering residents near an approaching wildfire to, quote, "leave immediately" and head south. Much of the state is under a red flag warning through at least today due to hot, windy and dry weather conditions. In Napa County, authorities now say the Glass fire has burned at least 2,500 acres, and in Shasta County, the Zaca fire has grown to 7,000 acres statewide, Cal Fire says crews are battling, Laura, 25 major wildfires.

JARRETT: That's just devastating. All right, Democratic nominee Joe Biden's campaign is reacting to the revelations about President Trump's taxes ahead of their first head-to-head debate tomorrow. That's next.

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[05:10:00]

JARRETT: Democratic nominee Joe Biden's campaign responding to "The New York Times" story detailing President Trump's crushing losses and tax avoidance. Here is what Biden's deputy campaign manager told CNN's Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BEDINGFIELD, DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER & COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, BIDEN CAMPAIGN: It's the latest reminder how clear the choice is here between -- in this race, between Park Avenue and Scranton. You have in Donald Trump a president who spends his time thinking about how he can work his way out of paying taxes, of meeting the obligation that every other working person in this country meets every year. You know, with Joe Biden, you have somebody who has a completely different perspective on what it means to be a working family in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Expect to hear a lot more of that when Biden faces off against Trump on the debate stage tomorrow night. CNN's Arlette Saenz has more now.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Laura and Christine, here in Cleveland, Joe Biden and President Trump will face off for the first time for their first presidential debate of the general election. And each of these candidates has been preparing in their own way. Joe Biden spent the weekend in Wilmington, Delaware, he's been meeting with his top advisors as he prepares to take on President Trump. Biden saying that he expects a lot of the president's attacks to become personal.

[05:15:00]

Now for the president's part, he has also met with some of his advisors, talking about Rudy Giuliani and Chris Christie as two men who stood in for Joe Biden during those debate prep sessions like he has. But he hasn't gotten that specific about how exactly he's preparing, other than saying the job of the presidency is preparation enough. Now, this debate will look very different from past presidential debates in part because of the coronavirus pandemic. There will be no handshake between President Trump and Joe Biden as they take the stage. The audience will be quite a bit smaller, roughly 60 to 70 people expected to be in the audience, and everyone that is on hand will be tested for coronavirus and follow other health and safety protocols.

All of this, these precautions taken to ensure that the candidates, the audience and even the media are all kept safe and healthy during this debate. But this will be the first time that voters will see Joe Biden and President Trump on that debate stage facing off in person as they're each making their pitch to voters heading into the November election. Laura and Christine?

JARRETT: Arlette, thank you. The most anticipated moment of the election is almost here. Donald Trump and Joe Biden face off in the first presidential debate, watch it all play out live on CNN with special coverage tomorrow night beginning at 7:00 Eastern.

ROMANS: An election in a pandemic. Twenty one states, most of them in the west, are reporting an increase of at least 10 percent in coronavirus cases week over week. And health experts are sounding the alarm about a potential coronavirus surge in the Fall and Winter as Americans use less caution and spend more time indoors. More now from CNN's Natasha Chen. NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Laura, over the past

week, the seven-day average of new cases in the U.S. has been consistently more than 40,000 a day. And that's concerning because the trend had come down in early September compared to the nationwide peak that we saw in mid to late July. But now, that trend is starting to creep back up.

On Sunday, Florida became the third state in the country to top more than 700,000 cases, following Texas and California over the Summer. Now, Florida is also among about a dozen states whose new cases have actually fallen in the past week compared to the week before. And Governor Ron DeSantis did move the state into phase 3, removing state restrictions on capacity limits in places like restaurants and bars.

Meanwhile, in New York City, deputies broke up a wedding of about 300 people in Queens over the weekend, issuing them tickets for multiple misdemeanors. On Sunday, health officials in the city warned that COVID-19 cases are still growing at an alarming rate in parts of Brooklyn and Queens. And on Saturday, the statewide new case numbers topped 1,000 for the first time since early June, and Governor Cuomo warned everyone to still maintain social distancing, wear masks and abide by local health guidelines as flu season approaches. Laura and Christine, back to you.

JARRETT: Natasha, thank you so much. Well, three women just made history in the NFL. We've got your "BLEACHER REPORT" next.

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ROMANS: All right, so, the Green Bay Packers remain undefeated, beating the Saints to cap off a wild Sunday in the NFL. Andy Scholes has this morning's "BLEACHER REPORT", hey Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS REPORTER: Yes, good morning, Christine. You know, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers have been putting up points this year, they scored more than 40 in weeks one and two. Could they keep that going in New Orleans against the Saints last night on Sunday night football? Well, they didn't get to 40, but Rodgers remaining hot third quarter, rolling out to his left hits Mercedes Lewis for the score to take the lead. May have been a little bit of a push off from Lewis there. But Rodgers three touchdowns passes in this one, as the Packers win 37-30 to improve the 3-0 first win for the Packs over the Saints in New Orleans in 25 years.

All right, they were going to hand out an MVP trophy after three games, it would definitely be going to Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. He came through again in the clutch, hitting D.K. Metcalf with a 29-yard touchdown under 2 minutes ago to beat the Cowboys 38-31. Wilson, five more touchdown passes in this game. He has 14 TD passes in the first three games, which is the most in NFL history.

All right, Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills avoiding an epic collapse. They were up 25 over the Rams in the third quarter. But Jared Goff led L.A. back to take the lead, but right there with 15 seconds left. Allen finding Tyler Kroft with a three-yard touchdown. The Bills now 3-0 as well after escaping with 35-32 win. Oh, it's another rough Monday if you're a Falcons fan. Atlanta up by 16 halfway through the fourth quarter, the Bears though benching Mitch Trubisky for Nick Foles, and well, Foles doing what he does, leading the comeback. Chicago scores 20 unanswered points to shock Atlanta 30-26. The Falcons, the first team in NFL history to blow a lead of 15 or more twice in a season in the fourth quarter. They've done it in back-to- back weeks.

All right, three women meanwhile making NFL history in the Washington- Cleveland game yesterday, it's the first time, three women were on the field in official capacity during a regular season NFL game. Callie Brownson is the Browns chief of staff, Jennifer King is Washington's four-year coaching intern and Sarah Thomas is an NFL official. Good for them, all being on the field yesterday. Cleveland beating Washington in that one, 34-20 giving them their first winning record in six years.

[05:25:00]

All right, the NBA finals is now set. The Heat trailing the Celtics in the fourth quarter last night, they out-scored them by 18 in the final nine minutes of the game. Twenty-year-old Tyler Hero, he was great again, 11 points in the fourth quarter as the Heat win 125-113. Miami was the five-seat in the East, they're now going to face old friend LeBron and the Lakers, game one of the NBA finals, Wednesday night. All right, and finally, Major League Baseball post-season is also now set. All right, here's a look at the bracket for the first time ever, eight teams in each league making it to the playoffs.

All of these Wildcard Series are going to be a three-game series, and they're going to take place at the higher seed's ballpark. Certainly will be interesting to see that unfold and, you know, Laura, we didn't have sports for a wild, but I mean, just think about next Sunday, we're going to have baseball's post-season, a full slate of NFL games and the NBA finals all taking place at the same time. Never going to get off of your couch.

JARRETT: Means you are going to be a busy man, I know, that makes you happy. Good to see you this morning, Andy, thanks so much.

SCHOLES: All right --

JARRETT: All right, new revelations in "The New York Times" this morning about President Trump's taxes. How much he pays, how much he's lost and how much is coming due? That's next.

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